


Currents and Curates

by NEStar



Category: AUSTEN Jane - Works, Persuasion - Jane Austen
Genre: Gen, Minor Character(s), set before the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 01:03:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21262547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NEStar/pseuds/NEStar
Summary: A short talk between two minor characters.Original Notes: Here's a story I wrote for the Firthness third birthday challenge. Hope you enjoy it.Written: Mar 29, 2005





	Currents and Curates

There was a young boy sitting on the stone wall that ran down the lane. He had a pile of pebbles that he was happily throwing at a pair of sheep. I say he was young, but, indeed, he was old enough to know better.   
  
“They’re lovely sheep, are they not Master Musgrove?”   
“Yes, sir.” The lad replied, “I call that one Henrietta and the other one Louisa.”   
  
Poor lad, thought I, his sisters must have been after him for one of their schemes again.   
  
“See Henrietta-sheep even has spots on her face just like my sister. Sheep don’t care about spots, but my sister spends ever so much time worrying over her spots.”   
  
“I remember when my sister, Sophy, had them, she even tried to stay home from church a few times.”   
  
“Henrietta hasn’t done that, yet.” The boy got an odd look on his face. “Did you know that currents are just the size of the big spots? The juice is the same color too.”   
  
Oh my! “And how did you learn this?” I picked up a stone and started to flip it, hoping it would help put the boy it ease.   
  
“Cook is putting up currents. She gave me a big bowl of them to eat, so I went to find Henrietta and Louisa. They were supposed to be doing their lessons, but only Henrietta was there and she was asleep.”  
  
“So how did this lead to your discovery?” I threw the stone to the boy.  
  
“The first one was an accident.” He threw it back to me. “I had one in my hand and my thumb nail went into it, the juice dripped onto her face and that’s when I saw that it looked just like her other spots.”   
  
“What happened when she woke up?”  
  
“She told Father.” He missed the stone. “Usually when I do something like this he whips me, but today he said that I had done my tricks too many times.”   
  
A worrying feeling came over me. “And?”  
  
“I’m to be a cabin boy.”  
  
Dear Lord! Freddie had told me about the treatment cabin boys had received on his ship. He said that if he ever made Captain he would be sure to see that his boys were never treated in such a manner  
  
“Well then, Dick,” The use of his Christian name seemed to give a comfort to the lad, “I will pray that you get a good ship and a fair Captain.”  
  
“Thank you, Mr. Wentworth.”  
  
Indeed, I will pray for that and who knows, maybe Frederick will be in a position to give some help to the boy.


End file.
